Power & Equality.

Peace!...with 2 fingers;)

Betta.

There’s been many social changes since The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s with the struggle for human equality but remains difficult 2 comprehend how another person can ever claim superiority over another.

The audacity.

 Fast forward to 2016 where rights remain violated due to the color of a person’s skin, gender & faith. 

Seriously?

This is why I see an importance of keeping this particular segment of history alive & brought to the forefront. 

With the recent pulse of bold ignorance exhibited by insecure grumpy men young & old, the sacrifices of those before me who laid their lives on the line cannot & will not be dismissed.

Betta. (1955-1965) from The Weddington Adventures. on Vimeo.

Despite the dangers during that period, peaceful demonstration displayed the power of the human spirit & exposed the foul attitudes of those who oppose. 

Regardless, heads remain high….  

Sprayed with high powered water hoses, beaten with police batons, mauled by dogs, even killed clearly shows the true face of injustice that continues 2 this very day. 

So ask yourself, are you part of the solution or part of the problem?

C’mon man!!

Why should we even have to explain such a basic life principle that should be considered common decency?

History has the tendency to repeat itself but is our responsibility 2 prevent such painful events from reoccurring. 

So now is the time for all of us 2 do “betta” yall.

Here is the first installment of a series explaining the relevance of that time & what it means 2 be me.

Peace!…with 2 fingers;)

A Man.

Peace!...with 2 fingers;)

Homeless.

**Working within the wonderful world of psychiatry, I've come across literally hundreds of amazing people with awesome stories who happen to be homeless with no options may I add. This population usually stays under the radar & are considered the unforgotten. 

Here's a series of eye opening facts pertaining 2 the homeless & Another2fingers production of my own personal interpretation of this widespread problem. 

*Remember: The more you know, the more you grow...right?;)

Fact 1: Over half a million people are homeless. On any given night, there are over 600,000 homeless people in the U.S., according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

Fact 2: One quarter of homeless people are children. HUD reports that on any given night, over 138,000 of the homeless in the U.S. are children under the age of 18. Thousands of these homeless children are unaccompanied, according to HUD. 

Fact 3: Tens of thousands of veterans are homeless. Over 57,000 veterans are homeless each night, according to HUD. Sixty percent of them are in shelters, the rest unsheltered. 

Fact 4: Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness among women. More than 90 percent of homeless women are victims of severe physical or sexual abuse, and escaping that abuse is a leading cause of their homelessness. 


Homeless. from The Weddington Adventures. on Vimeo.

Fact 5: Many people are homeless because they cannot afford rent. The lack of affordable housing is a primary cause of homelessness. HUD has seen its budget slashed by over 50 percent in recent decades, resulting in the loss of 10,000 units of subsidized low-income housing each and every year.

Fact 6: There are fewer places for poor people to rent than before.  One eighth of the nation’s supply of low-income housing has been permanently lost since 2001. The U.S. needs at least 7 million more affordable apartments for low-income families, and as a result, millions of families spend more than half of their monthly income on rent.

Fact 7: In the last few years millions have lost their homes. Over 5 million homes have been foreclosed on since 2008; that’s one out of every 10 homes with a mortgage. 

Fact 9: One in five homeless people suffers from untreated severe mental illness. While about 6 percent of the general population suffers from severe mental illness, 20 to 25 percent of the homeless suffer from severe mental illness, 

Fact 10: Cities are increasingly making homelessness a crime. 24 percent of Major cities make it a city-wide crime to beg in public, 33 percent make it illegal to stand around or loiter anyplace in the city, 18 percent make it a crime to sleep anywhere in public, 43 percent make it illegal to sleep in your car, and 53 percent make it illegal to sit or lie down in particular public places. And the number of cities criminalizing homelessness is steadily increasing. 

For more information, look to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, whose publications were very helpful with this piece, as well as the National Center for Homeless Education and the National Coalition on the Homeless.

Volume #7.

The Peace with 2 C.o.l.l.e.c.t.i.o.n.